


Pigmentation Pondification

by LokoteiBex



Series: Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 [6]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25636129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokoteiBex/pseuds/LokoteiBex
Summary: “... Do you like me better as a brunette?” she finally asked.The question clearly took Eugene by surprise, and he blinked a moment before his smile returned. He reached out and caressed her cheek, letting strands of gold fall between his fingers. “I like you the same, no matter what your hair looks like,” he assured her.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850176
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Pigmentation Pondification

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel Appreciation Week Day 6 - Brunette

_“Did I ever tell you I’ve got a thing for brunettes?”_

At the time, Rapunzel had assumed it was just Eugene’s way of letting her know that he was alive, and nothing had changed. Later, after her blonde hair had returned and he apologized about proposing to her out of the blue, he’d run his fingers through her hair and told her he’d missed it. That had caught her off-guard.

Gradually, she’d come to understand that what he was really saying was that her hair length and color and power didn’t matter to him, and he loved her no matter what.

But then, she saw Stalyan. She tried very hard to convince herself that Stalyan was a redhead, that “auburn” was a shade of red and not brown. But no matter how she looked at it, it was a shade of brown too. And Eugene had a thing for brunettes.

She’d wondered about that, even after the whole forced marriage thing was over and done with. Did he have a real, actual thing for brunettes, and that was what had attracted him to Stalyan in the first place? Did he genuinely find her prettier when her hair was brown?

She found herself, one late afternoon, not in her window seat, but out on the actual balcony, watching the sun set over the distant hills. Its light was painting the sky in marigold and coral, the colors blending and going indigo around the edges where the light didn’t quite reach, and the stars were beginning to show.

It was a stupid thing to be so preoccupied with. She had much bigger concerns beyond Eugene’s preferences in hair color. She knew he loved her, no matter what. She knew he found her beautiful, and that her hair didn’t actually matter to him. She could dye it green with one of Varian’s potions, and Eugene might be surprised at first (and ask how much potion it had taken), but he’d tell her it brought out her eyes, and that if people thought she was unique before, wait until they got a load of this! And yet, here she was, mulling over the idea that Eugene liked her better when she looked a different way, or silently compared her to his abusive ex when she did.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Rapunzel turned with a start, surprised to see Eugene stepping out of her window to join her. “Oh! You startled me! I didn’t hear you come in my room!”

“Yeah, I’m remembering how to sneak,” he winked, then joined her at the railing. “Whatcha thinking about, Blondie? I haven’t seen you so lost in thought in a while.”

Blondie. That was another thing. He had a nickname specifically for when she was blonde, but not for when she was brunette.

“It’s stupid,” she assured him dismissively.

“Nonsense! Nothing that comes out of that pretty brain of yours is stupid! Maybe misdirected or already been done, but never stupid.”

She gave him a wry smile, knowing he’d back off if she told him to. But really, what would be the point? He was the only one with answers to her questions.

“... Do you like me better as a brunette?” she finally asked.

The question clearly took Eugene by surprise, and he blinked a moment before his smile returned. He reached out and caressed her cheek, letting strands of gold fall between his fingers. “I like you the same, no matter what your hair looks like,” he assured her.

“That’s not… really what I meant,” she explained, leaning into his touch. “I know your actual opinion of me doesn’t change, but do you think I’m prettier with brown hair? Would you prefer it if it was still brown? What if everything else was exactly the same, but my hair was still brown. Do you think you’d prefer that, visually aesthetically speaking?”

Confusion flitted across his face as he rubbed his thumb tenderly across her cheek.

“See? I knew it was stupid,” she sighed, and turned back to the view.

“Hey now, I didn’t say it was stupid. I didn’t even think it. I’m just trying to understand what you’re really asking here. Do I actually prefer brunettes over blondes? No, I guess not. But I don’t prefer blondes over brunettes, either. Not unless we’re talking about my own hair. I don’t think I could pull off the Goldie Locks look like you can.” His joke fell flat, and he cleared his throat a little before continuing on.

“Rapunzel, I prefer you with brown hair for one reason, and one reason only. When your hair was brown, it was because you were finally free from the tower. It was because you had finally found your place with your real family. And it was because my sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. If you hadn’t been able to bring me back, I’d be in the afterlife right now, happy that you were free, that cutting your hair, _turning it brown_ , had set you free. It’s not that I love brunettes, it’s that I love _you_. You could have green hair, and I’d think you were just as beautiful as you are now, and you were two years ago, before your blonde hair came back.”

Rapunzel had already started to understand, already begun to feel better, when he mentioned green hair. Suddenly, she was grinning broadly and hugging him tightly. “Green is the color I went for, too!” she bubbled, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

And now Eugene wondered if he should be worried.

**Author's Note:**

> I remember when Tangled Before Ever After aired, and I was livid that Eugene had run his fingers through her restored blonde hair and said, "I missed this." To me, it severely took away the impact of, "Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"
> 
> But then I thought about it and realized what he was really saying, both times, was that he hair length and color and power or lack thereof wasn't the important thing to him. SHE was. Ever since then, I haven't minded it at all.


End file.
